Malawi will soon have another five start hotel in the capital Lilongwe following an announcement by China Lilongwe Grand Holdings Corporation Limited (CLGHC) to invest US$100 million the hotel building following their attendance to first ever Malawi Investment Forum.

CLGHC chief executive officer Jeff Zhang said his company was among the Chinese companies that attended the first ever Malawi Investment Forum.

Mwanamvekha says China Lilongwe Company is one of the fruits of the Malawi Investment Forum

The company chief executive officer Jeff Zhang also disclosed plans to have a cigarette manufacturing projects in Malawi. The two projects are expected to create over 3,000 jobs.

He said the two projects will be rolled out in not too distant future as CLGHC has already done the registration.

“All we are waiting for is allocation of land by the relevant authorities. But we are ready to bring in our equipment,” said Zhang.

He said the five star hotel will also be “one stop recreation centre “ with a casino, karaoke, basketball and tennis courts and cinema to help the country attract more tourists and boost revenue collection.

Zhang also disclosed of plans to build in Malawi “the largest solar power plant in Africa,” said Zhang.

He further said CLGHC has already started employing people and will soon start construction of the recreation centre

Meanwhile, an investment advisory firm, Nico Asset Managers, has expressed optimism that implementation of the investment projects as highlighted in the government compendium document have the potential to boost growth.

The firm in a recent economic review report said the projects, which include the rehabilitation of Chileka Airport and the Kam’mwamba energy plant, are expected to promote the country’s growth prospects.

The report reads: “If successful they [the projects] will lead to better infrastructure and improved power generation which will aid the manufacturing industry and other business.”

The report said if the power projects announced by government are successful, power generation may improve as insufficient power supply hampers productivity because businesses are unable to operate to their full capacity.

The asset managers have said economic growth is forecast to average 5.6 percent in the period 2016-2018 if the economy continues to recover, donor budgetary support flows restart, uranium production resumes once world prices recover and also due to continued exploration of rare earth minerals.

And Minister of industry and trade Joseph Mwanamvekha said there are many more companies that have already registered to invest in the country following the investment forum.

He said the ministry will shortly provide the country with the list of companies that are ready to invest in the country.

“In 2015, we did the marketing of the country, and this year it is when we will start reaping the fruits from the marketing we did,” said Mwanamvekha.

Malawi with no known desert, we will have to wait & see where the largest solar plant in Africa will be located. When completed the five star hotel, how long will it take before it becomes operational? Blantyre deserves a 60,000 seater stadium @ the same site we have the current edifice plus the UGLY hockey ground.

Good news but these Chinese Hotels must not come here with their own farmers to grow tomato and other vegies. What will the local benefit from these hotels if they can’t buy from us or buy from us at low prices.

On power it s a good development but we need transparency in terms of how power contracts are being given
We should be careful, these are deals that should be given to local malawians and investors should partner with them otherwise we will lose out completely cause the money will just be going out of the country